André Agius is one to watch - The Stage, UK

André (he/him) is an Edinburgh-based Maltese director & theatre-maker. He creates bold, playful work that is driven by risk, shaped by a strong visual language, and influenced by European theatre traditions.

André works across different styles and genres, from new-writing to contemporary re-tellings and modern classics. Still, he is especially interested in contemporary restagings, adaptations and re-inventions of classical texts.

His work has been praised for its razor-sharp pace, dialogue and deeply layered characters, as well as its strong visual and aural coherence, and his bold and inventive directorial style is known for blending visual agility and magic realism in a very exciting way. André seeks to challenge, excite and entertain audiences.

André looks for stories that feel urgent, intimate, and especially, relevant. He then works on stripping the original text to its bare essence, exposing and bringing to the surface the relationships, moral & thematic tension, and clarity of storytelling, making them relevant to a contemporary audience.

Born and raised in Malta, André first started training as an actor; starting to work in the industry at the age of seven. André went on to act in shows in both Malta and also Internationally, in theatres such as the Arcola Theatre, English Theatre in Frankfurt and the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. While on film, he has played main or featured roles in CBS, BBC and Paramount films.

At the age of 23, he decided to shift from acting to directing, with a unique style and approach, to direct the way “he used to enjoy being directed as an actor”, with the director as a collaborator within the rehearsal room.

André has been Artistic Director of the Edinburgh International Book Festival‘s EXPO Funded Scotland Through Time Shows, Associate Director to Wils Wilson on David Greig's 'Two Sisters' at the Lyceum Theatre and Assistant Producer on the Royal Lyceum Theatre's 'Wonder Festival' . He has directed the show Utter Filth at the Traverse Theatre and has regularly directed for ‘A Play, A Pie & A Pint’ including the ‘Impromptu at Òran Mór’ by Morna Pearson, after Moliere and Tamam Shud by Thomas Jancis.

In Malta, he has directed mainstage shows that include the 5-star "Delicious and Brutal" God Of Carnage by Yazmina Reza for the National Theatre of Malta,  A Translation of Harold Pinter’s The Hot House for the National Theatre Company (Teatru Malta), David Hare’s Skylight, an adaptation of Henrik Ibsen’s Peer Gynt with the original orchestrations for Malta’s National Philharmonic Orchestra and has also served as a dramaturg on a production for the National Dance Company, Żfin Malta. He has also been Assistant Festival Manager of the ŻiguŻajg International Festival for Arts Festival for Children & Young People and Assistant Artistic Director of The Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting Opening Ceremony and Artistic Events.

André has also directed shows that have premiered at the Sharjah Heritage Days in Dubai, The Robert Lewis Stevenson Festival and the Babel International Theatre Festival in Romania.

André holds an MFA in Directing from Edinburgh Napier, under the mentorship of Mark Thomson, A BA (Hons) in Theatre Studies from the University of Malta and a Diploma in Speech and Drama from Trinity College. He has also trained at Rose Bruford College, Odin Teatret in Denmark and at the István Örkény Theatre in Budapest.